Record of the Day: I Can't Get Next To You - Al Green

Back in blogging land after a few weeks of festivities, job searching, house hunting and all that jazz. My life has been very nearly pieced back together and so I thought some Sunday night soul was in order. Cue Mr Green (and his cover of this Temptations classic!) . It's an oldie but SUCH a goodie, which I was reminded of by my good friend Sex and the City in the 'Fleet Week' episode and it made me want to go dancing! Enjoy.

Record of the Day: I Can't Get Next To You - Al Green (from the LP Al Green Gets Next to You, 1971)

Record of the Day: Taylor Swift - 22

So I've been listening to the new Taylor Swift album pretty much all day and I've come to the conclusion that I fucking love it. I'll be honest, I've not been a massive Taylor fan in the past (mainly because I love country music and she's generally a poor excuse for country) but Red can in pretty much no way be classed as country. This is pretty shameless pop music which is my absolute favourite kind.

This song probably isn't my favourite (I very much enjoy All Too Well and I Knew You Were Trouble) but I thought it particularly appropriate as I go into my final few weeks of being 22 :)


Record of the Day: Taylor Swift - 22 (from Red, 2012 - Big Machine Records)

Record of the Day: Kate Nash - Fri-end?

Here's an interesting one - I think the last time anyone actually remembers hearing about Kate Nash was 5 years ago during the days of Foundations but actually she's been plodding away for a while doing something completely different to the, let's be honest, annoying Lilly Allen style garbage found on Made of Bricks. Rather excitingly my department at work is working her newest musical endeavour BUT do not think this has made me biased in any way - her new stuff is actually pretty great. My favourite combo of indie guitar and riot gurrl vocals. Her new album is so new even we haven't heard it in the office yet but she was oh so kind enough to release a little video today of one her tracks from her upcoming EP to celebrate Halloween. Enjoy and I hope you all eat so many sweets tonight it makes you sick.


Record of the Day: Kate Nash - Fri-end? (2013)

Record of the Day: Barenaked Ladies - One Week

Bit of a throw back today but I had 10 Things I Hate About You on last night and this song came on in the opening credits and I remembered how AWESOME the song and the entire movie is. So go listen to this and then go watch the movie again so your life is better.

Record of the Day: Barenaked Ladies - One Week (from the album Stunt, 1998 - Reprise Records)

Record of the Day: Lonsdale Boys Club - Light Me Up

This band have been around for a while, but I'm not gonna be all hipster and pretend like I've known about them for years. In truth, the only reason I know about them is because the lead singer Charlie was on my floor at work about a week ago and I had to check whether the meeting room next to my desk was free for an hour...so rock and roll I know. So I Googled them and here we are!
Lonsdale Boys Club are from London and their music is apparently described (probably from some pretentious critic) as a "fusion of disco funk, rock, soul and a little bit of 90's Brit Pop." For me personally, it falls into my category of 'house party music'. It's funky and danceable without being ridiculous rave dance music. I LOVE it. Have a listen and I dare you not to dance (or bob your head if you're at work or something...personally I have no issue dancing at work though...) Also the album is pretty sweet too.

Record of the Day: Lonsdale Boys Club - Light Me Up (From the album Lonsdale Boys Club, 2012 - Island Records, UMG)

Record of the Day: Kodaline - All I Want

So this is possibly the saddest song I've heard in a long while - I don't suggest watching this video if you have a problem with crying in public. I had an unexpected tear in the office just now.

Record of the Day: Kodaline - All I Want (from their self titles EP, September 9th - RCA Victor/B-Unique; the EP is available to stream here)

Enjoy.

Recordof the Day: Happy Birthday Freddie Mercury!

Happy Birthday to, in my opinion, the best rock vocalist and performer of all time, Freddie Mercury. I've been a Queen fan since I was just a minion and every since I can remember I have wanted to BE Freddie. In my eyes he could do no wrong. He died 3 days after my 2nd birthday and yet I still grew up loving Queen's music and Freddie's legendary voice. Here's some videos of him and Queen being generally amazing. ALSO here's Freddie as an Angry Bird, created for the annual 'Freddie For A Day' campaign today! The day is to raise money and awareness for the AIDS charity Mercury Phoenix Trust set up in Freddie's memory in 1992. Go on here for more info :)

Picture from here

Top 5 Beyonce Records - Happy Birthday Bey!

It's her 31st Birthday and she is my god. Seriously, I worship her. Without a doubt, any tricky situation I get myself into I ask myself "what would Beyonce do?" and then channel her. I couldn't possibly just choose one of her songs for today so I chose 5 performances instead!

Here's my top 5 Beyonce Performances of all time:


5. I Was Here at The Roseland Ballroom, NYC 2011 - One of my favourite songs, and this video has a really awesome montage of all the amazing things she's done in her life. Love it.

4. Halo (Acoustic) at the NUH Hospital for Leukaemia patients in Singapore. Effortless.

3. Bootylicious on the Rosie O'Donnell Show, 2001 - I couldn't not include some Destiny's Child in here! The first time I saw Beyonce live was just before this (I actually saw the band when there was 4 of them and there was all the LaTavia/LaToya weirdness...) and I fell in love immediately. I love this performance in particular because I think it looks like we could have plucked it right out of the 70s! I also love this song as there can never be enough celebrating of the big behinds of the world.

2. Love On Top at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards - Not only absolutely note perfect but it was the performance that annouced little baby Blue to the world! So cute. (I almost tear up everytime I watch Jay-Z looking all proud :D) And man does she KILL those key changes.

1. 1+1 at Glastonbury 2011 - I know it's another Glastonbury video but it's just too good. This is probably my favourite Beyonce song, mainly because it's so personal whilst also being universal. This video just shows how she gives 110% of herself every single time. If you haven't already watched the full Glastonbury set I HIGHLY suggest you get on it here. It's unbelievable.

Picture found here and videos found here

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Record of the Day: The La's - There She Goes

I watched The Parent Trap (the 1998 version) last night for the 50th time. It's one of my major comfort films and reminds me of more simple time, when I would have endless summers between school years to watch movies and listen to records, and when we all lived in a world where Lindsay Lohan wasn't a crackhead. As with the movie, this song always puts me in a great mood; plus the sun is shining today so there's no reason not to be happy!


Record of the Day: The La's - The She Goes (from the album The La's, 1988 - Polydor Records)

(Also I just wanted to share this video for the song This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole which appears in the credits of the movie and is possibly the happiest song of all time. Plus there's a little photo montage of the movie :D Enjoy!)



Record of the Day: Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Have I gone insane or is the new Taylor Swift song actually good? I know I'm not alone in this because I've been told by various people that they agree. It's weird because it's basically the same as every single other Taylor Swift song just not quite as annoying, which I suppose is an accomplishment. I'm not trying to be bitchy but I was working at HMV when her first two albums came out and the manager had them playing on the speakers in the store on repeat for about 5 weeks so I think my ears were permanently programmed to hate her from that point. However, I do rather enjoy this. I especially like the little talking bit in the middle, "We are never getting back together. Like Ever."

Record of the Day: Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (From the upcoming album, Red, 2012 - Big Machine Records)

Record of the Day: Owl City & Carly Rae Jepson - Good Time

So I've been kinda MIA from the Internet world for the last two months. My excuse is that I temporarily lost my mind in a number of ways but my desire to fill empty cyber space (or the minds of the couple of my friends that occasionally read this) with my ever so valid thoughts and feelings has been stored to full health. There have been a couple of shitty things happening in the last couple of weeks but it's time to focus on the positive as I always try to do. I'm about to move into a marvellous new flat with my friends which is all terribly exciting and so I'm celebrating with this song because it makes me feel so darn good.

Not gonna hide it, I kind of adore Carly Rae Jepson and I'm super pleased my record company will be releasing her new album Kiss this year (yay for freebies!!)

So here's my record of the day:

Owl City & Carly Rae Jepson - Good Time (From Owl City's new album The Midsummer Station, 2012 - Universal Republic Records)

Enjoy :)

Record of the Day: Best Coast - Boyfriend

I LOVE this band. They've been described to me as surf pop, which I guess is appropriate because listening to them does make me feel I should be in an episode of the O.C or something. They're from LA and they're made up of singer and guitarist Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno who does everything else it seems. There's a special place in my heart for sandy low-fidelity pop, particularly at this time of the year when I very much resent having to live through London's summers. Just because it's June mother it does not mean that I'm not allowed to wear tights and boots, it's fucking cold! Anyway, their debut album Crazy For You  was released in 2010 on the label Mexican Summer in the US and Wichita Records over here, and believe me when I tell you it's BRILLIANT. Their new album The Only Place released this year goes on in the same marvellous vein of fuzzy Beach Boys vs. Riot Guurl rock, but with a slightly more professional sound to the recording. Plus Bethany is one of those people who makes you look at yourself and realise how ultimately uncool you are. Love her.

Record of the Day: Best Coast - Boyfriend (from Crazy For You, 2010 - Witchita Records)

Record of the Day: Haim - Forever

Sometimes I get a bit ungrateful and forget that I work in a VERY cool place. It's 11am and all I've done this morning at work is sit in a meeting room, eating pain au chocolats, listening to new music my company is bringing out. A bit cool I think. It's a very odd record company tradition for groups of people to sit in meeting rooms in silence listening to whole albums, nodding their heads occasionally in appreciation and then discussing their thoughts - apparently this has always happened since the dawn of the record label. It does seem a little strange that people couldn't just listen to the albums on their own time but I'm not going to complain about a free hour or so from work.

So a little gem that came out of this morning's meeting was this! It's a band called Haim, made up of three sisters (with the last name Haim...kinda like Hanson but also really really not) from Los Angeles. To be honest, I really don't have any more info other than that! I believe they are about to be or are in the process of being signed to Polydor in the UK and one of our west coast labels in the States but who knows! Just enjoy this BRILLIANT video, which I believe they made themselves. LOVE it.

Record of the Day: Haim - Forever (2011)

Record of the Day: Under the Sea! - Little Mermaid

Today is Wold Ocean Day! I know it's sounds made up but it's completely legit and it means I can play you a song from the Little Mermaid!! No words are necessary.

Record of the Day: Under the Sea (from The Little Mermaid, 1989, performed by Samuel E. Wright - Walt Disney Records)

Record of the Day: Meredith Brooks - Bitch

Sometimes you wake up in the morning and have a general bad feeling about not just the day ahead but literally everything and everyone in the entire world. You have no patience for anyone/anything and you're fully aware that it would probably be best for everyone that you may encounter that day for you to stay in a dark room away from humanity until it passes. Unfortunately, it's not really acceptable to call work to say you're not coming in because you hate everyone so you have to go, and god help those who get in your way.

I must say this is a rare occurrence for me, I'm generally quite an overly happy (possibly annoyingly so...) person but today has been one of those days. The fact that the rest of my office is still alive is really just a testament of my self control aided by a lot of kit kats. So to celebrate my horrifically bad mood here's a FANTASTIC record. And if you don't like it, then fuck off.

Record of the Day: Meredith Brooks - Bitch (from Blurring The Edges, 1997 - Capitol Records)

Record of the Day: U2 - Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For..

I'm a pretty massive U2 fan, which is surprising considering I don't appear to be a dramatic socially and morally conscious 35 year old man with thick rimmed glasses disappointed at the world, but also really not surprising if you know me at all and know that I am in fact a dramatic socially and morally conscious 35 year old (possibly more like 50) man with thick rimmed glasses disappointed at the world trapped in the body of a 22 year old girl with contacts and the occasional burst of social awkwardness. Yay for me! So, I love U2. It was difficult for me to even choose my favourite song because I felt bad for all the other songs every time I did! What's so wonderful about their music is I never felt like there was a single throwaway note or lyric - like everything was placed exactly where it was supposed to be. And I'm sure you've all heard a song and it makes you feel like the band has literally taken the words right out of your brain and muddled them up so they sound way more coherent and probably rhyme and put them to music? Well, that's how I feel all the time when I listen to U2. Eventually I chose this song, but not because I like it more than the others, just because I felt it appropriate at the moment :)


Record of the Day: U2 - Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Live in Milan) (from The Joshua Tree, 1987 - Island Records - yay for us!)

Record of the Day: Playing for Change - Stand By Me

My housemate sent me this video after we heard the honestly quite appalling song Gary Barlow wrote for the Jubilee, in which he went around the world recording excepts to then put together to create a song. I'm a MASSIVE Take That fan, and Gary fan for that matter, but I really don't think it worked. It sounds like a mediocre school choir, which is a shame because both me and my housemate were hoping for something more epic/Never Forget style... Anyways, after hearing Gary's song she told me about this project called 'Playing for Change' that began a few years ago and that our company had released some records for. It started in 2004 with their goal to "inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music" and the creators of the project, Mark Johnson and Enzo Buono, travelled around the world using mobile recording equipment to record local musicians performing the same songs in their own style. Their first single, the video I've chosen today, began in Santa Monica with a street performer called Roger Ridley. The video includes performances by musicians in the US, Spain, Africa, Italy and others, and has so far had over 42 million hits on YouTube! It really is quite lovely to watch and reminds me what a universal language music is :)

Record of the Day: Playing for Change - Stand By Me (from Playing For Change: Songs Around The World, 2009 - Concord Music Group)

Record of the Day: John Mayer - Shadow Days

So, I don't want to be one of those dicks/hipster people who go on and on about how they have liked an artist or a movie or an actor since the beginning of time before everyone else, which then gives them some kind of claim over that artist/movie/actor but HONESTLY that is what happened with me and John Mayer! Seriously. I bought his very first EP Inside Wants Out about 10 years ago now (by the way - best EP I've ever heard by far) and have been completely in love with his music ever since. I mean, that dude KNOWS how to write a song. I know he's kind of an asshole in real life but I just don't care, he voice makes me block it all out. I've seen him twice now and was absolutely not disappointed. I particularly like that he brings a big Persian carpet with him to all his gigs to stand on. I enjoy a good artist quirk.

It's been a while since I've done a top 5 soooo....my top 5 John Mayer records go something like this (with some super cool live versions):

5. Your Body Is a Wonderland (from Room for Squares, 2001) Here's a nice acoustic version:

4. Comfortable (from Inside Wants Out, 1999 / re-released 2002) Here's a live version that goes into his delicious cover of Tom Petty's Free Fallin' (FYI one of my favourite songs of all time - I like to think it's being sung to me because of the line "She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis"...)

3. Dreaming with a Broken Heart (from Continuum, 2006)

2. 3x5 (from Room for Squares, 2001)

1. Say (from The Bucket List OST, 2011) Here's the music video; this movie is absolutely heartbreaking by the way - but GREAT of course.

His fifth studio album was released last week and having it pre-ordered for months, it arrived at my work place last Tuesday and I sat and listened to the entire album in detail. As we're all weird music freaks at my office this is a thing many people I know do - really get to know an album - which I did. And now I want to marry the album and have little Grace-album babies with it because oh my god IT'S SO BLOODY GOOD. You'd think after 5 albums there would be a couple of duds on there but really really no! It's genius. Even more exciting is that the release of the album marks John's return to business after a two year break whilst he had a granuloma near his vocal chords removed - not gonna lie, this stressed me out A LOT but luckily his vocals are as stunning as ever. To sum up, I really like the album...I'll stop rambling now.

I've chosen my favourite so far (I'm sure my mind will change as I listen more, it always does) for today's record of the day, which also happens to be the first single from the album.

Record of the Day: John Mayer - Shadow Days (From Born and Raised, 2012 - Columbia/Sony Music - Damn them...)

My ULTIMATE John Mayer Spotify playlist: John Mayer 

Record of the Day: Blink 182 - Ghost on the Dancefloor

Got my free tickets from work today to the Blink gig at Brixton Academy in July yay!! I adore them so much, mainly because they make me feel like I'm 15 again but also because they're just marvellous :D At the gig I plan to jump around like a lunatic and throw myself around in a pit of gross sweaty men...so just another Wednesday night really.


Record of the Day: Blink 182 - Ghost on the Dancefloor (from Neighborhoods, 2011 - DGC/Interscope Records)

My Blink playlist:

Blink 182 



Record of the Day: The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight

I'm in a pretty fantastic mood today! The sun is still shining in London (3 days in a row - WHAT?!), I have a pretty dress on and it's Friday! Naturally when I'm in a good mood I turn to The Sugarhill Gang...I have no idea why some songs make me feel super happy, I'm even less sure why this specific song does that because despite watching the below video with the lyrics I still have no clue what they're talking about BUT I don't care!

I've also included a clip from The Wedding Singer when Ellen Dow raps the song. Literally, there is very little I enjoy watching more than rapping Grannies.

Record of the Day: The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight (from Sugarhill Gang, 1980 - Sugarhill Records)